


Like Roses

by twyly56



Category: Dredd (2012), Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: (Except to Techie), Anxiety, Armitage Hux & Clan Techie are Brothers, Armitage Hux Has Feelings, Armitage Hux is Not Clan Techie, Armitage Hux to the Rescue, Bionic Eye Implants, Caring Armitage Hux, Death Threats, Emperor Hux, Estranged Siblings, Estrangement, Eye Trauma, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Hux is Not Nice, Kylo Ren is Not Matt the Radar Technician, Mentioned Eye Gouging, Nervousness, Nightmares, Not Voluntarily, Past Abuse, Past Slavery, Past Torture, Poor Techie, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Recovery, Sobbing, Supreme Leader Kylo Ren, Techie Has PTSD, Twitchy Techie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-30
Updated: 2018-12-01
Packaged: 2019-09-02 14:38:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16788916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twyly56/pseuds/twyly56
Summary: No. No, it couldn't be. This was it. His mind had finally snapped. He was officially insane. Because there was no way that his big brother was standing in front of him. Achingly familiar pale green eyes, the color his own used to be, stared at him filled with hope and pain and anger. All on his behalf. The Techie hadn't had anyone look at him like that in years. He felt numb."Bren?" Armitage breathed.He couldn't bring himself to stare back his older brother in the face, Ma-Ma's conditioning making him drop his gaze to the floor, twitching anxiously as Armitage stepped closer to him. The Techie only met his eyes again when his brother laid a hand on his cheek, the involuntary flinch causing pure sadness to flash across Armitage's face. His brother's gloved hand was smooth and warm against his face."What happened to you, little brother?"





	1. Chapter 1

All he could hear was his heart pounding in his chest and blood rushing in his ears. Each shallow breath he took seemed to be too loud, too much. They were _gonna_ hear him, they were gonna _hear_ him, they were gonna _hear him._ The Techie ignored the discomfort of the metal panel digging into his back and the way the wires smashed against his bruised flesh. He could still feel her fingers digging into his hips, still feel her teeth on his neck, still feel her knife on his belly. Ma-Ma loved it when he cried. She said it made him look pretty, her pretty little Techie. 

He focused everything he had on remaining as still as physically possible. The black pupils of his bionic eyes widened to allow more of the dim light in to reach his faux retinas. The Techie blinked and felt his breath catch in his throat as the door knob turned, turned with a _click._ One step, two steps, three steps into the room, the sound of more than one person's pair of boots echoing off the concrete floor. No no no no. Please, no. 

The Techie shut his eyes, leaning his head forward slightly and letting his orangey red overlong hair fall in front of his face. Breathe in, breathe out. Counting backwards from seventy five in his head. _Crunch crunch crunch_ echoed closer to the panels, closer to him. The sound of guns, body armor, cloth, moving, the breath of the newcomers was loud in his ears. There was a rustle, and he jolted as a heavy gloved hand, strong fingers, wrapped around his bicep and yanked him out from behind the panels. The Techie screamed in terror, struggling against the person, a man, uniformed, wearing black. 

"No! No! No! Please don't - please don't shoot me!" the Techie begged in mess of jumbled words, his voice coming out higher pitched than usual in his adrenaline filled state. The man shoved him chest first against the wall with his arms pulled behind his back, his slim wrists held in one hand. "Please don't shoot me! No, no, no, I'm not - I'm not armed! I, I, I, I, I, I, I can help you!" 

"How?" the uniformed man asked. 

"I - I - I-" The Techie broke off in a whimper, shying away from the muzzle of the gun dangerously close to the back of his skull. "Ma-Ma's in her private quarters, b-but it's behind ten inches of steel." His breathing was growing ragged. He struggled to continue to speak around the dryness in his throat. "So you can't get in there without the keypad combination. I - I - I can give that to you." 

"We don't need your cooperation for that, slave," one of the other men said. 

Oh oh oh. They knew. He had hoped that his hair would have covered up the small dark blue tattoo on his head. His heart jumped. Was this how it was going to be then? He would be getting a Master instead of a Mistress. It wasn't an improvement really. The Techie was just a tool, a toy, not important. They wouldn't let him live now. Unless they wanted to play with him like Ma-Ma did. If that was what was going to happen, he would almost rather be shot. 

"Wait," a new voice said when the man pressed the gun back to his head. 

The Techie whimpered, his cheek pressed against the cold metal wall. His breath, choppy and uneven, was loud, too loud. 

"Let me see your face," the voice continued, the tone growing a bit gentler. 

The Techie moved from his position by the wall when the hands gripping him let go, so he could do as the man said. He bit the inside of his cheek, and the heady tang of copper on his tongue was nearly comforting. He turned to face the voice, keeping his eyes on the ground. A sharp inhalation of air, a gasp, startled, alarmed, made him look up. 

No. No, it couldn't be. This was it. His mind had finally snapped. He was officially insane. Because there was no way that his big brother was standing in front of him. Achingly familiar pale green eyes, the color his own used to be, stared at him filled with hope and pain and anger. All on his behalf. The Techie hadn't had anyone look at him like that in _years._ He felt numb. 

"Bren?" Armitage breathed. 

He couldn't bring himself to stare back his older brother in the face, Ma-Ma's conditioning making him drop his gaze to the floor, twitching anxiously as Armitage stepped closer to him. The Techie only met his eyes again when his brother laid a hand on his cheek, the involuntary flinch causing pure sadness to flash across Armitage's face. His brother's gloved hand was smooth and warm against his face. 

"What happened to you, little brother?" 


	2. Chapter 2

His head felt light, as if cotton was stuffed inside of it, making him dizzy and detached. This must be a dream. A nice dream. Those were rare for him these days. He kept expecting to blink and wake up on his mat on the floor of the control room. Ma-Ma was going to do her usual routine of shoving a list of instructions under his nose and tell him to get to work. If he was lucky, he would just get to work in peace by himself. If he wasn't, then Ma-Ma was going to hover over him and around his station, watching him intently with her cold brown eyes. She would trail her nails over the back of his neck, digging slightly on the skin covered in her black tattooed insignia. She would lift his shirt and run a knife over his stomach, catching the curved tip in his belly button. 

_Beep, boop, beep, beep,_ went a droid that rolled past them, causing the Techie to flinch in startlement. The people, so many people, stared at him as he walked past. The halls were crisp, clean, grey metal all around. The smooth floor felt cool under his bare feet, and the air inside the ship felt just the right temperature against the bare skin of his calves and face. The Techie walked very, very close to his older brother, all but plastering himself to Armitage's side. His hand looked so pale against his brother's black glove, and Armitage didn't squeeze his hand. He just held him firmly, gently, and led him down the hall past all the uniformed men and women. It was bizarre for someone to touch the Techie in a way that didn't hurt. 

There were bright lights overhead, white and cool, basking the medical bay and showing rows of metal cots with white sheets covering them. Medical personnel and med droids milled about the open area, checking on patients in various cots. Armitage led him to a cot at the end of the row near the door, and the Techie tentatively sat down on it. The white sheet crinkled beneath him. His legs dangled off the edge, his bare feet resting lightly on the cool floor below. Armitage had never been one for smiling, positive expressions few and far between on his face, but he gave him a soft smile when he glanced up at him, bionic eyes contracting and relaxing with his anxiety. His brother's face went neutral again when he turned to gesture a med droid. 

"It is just going to check you over and make sure you get the appropriate medical attention, okay? I promise it won't hurt you, Bren," Armitage murmured. 

"N-no fingers crossed?" the Techie stuttered, twitching as the medical droid came closer. 

"None. See?" Armitage said. He lightly gave the Techie's hand a squeeze and wiggled his free hand in his view. "I will be right here. I won't leave you." 

The Techie swallowed around the lump forming in his throat and nodded his head, tangled red hair falling in front of his face. The medical droid stopped in front of his cot. 

"Good afternoon, your majesty. Is this who you would like me to examine?" the droid asked. 

"Yes," Armitage replied. 

"Of course. If you could just hold still for me, sir, I will run this scanner over you to determine your physical state and diagnose any and all injuries you might have sustained," the droid told the Techie. "Do you have any questions for me before I begin? It is perfectly normal if you do." 

The Techie shook his head no. The medical droid raised its silver colored scanner and brought it closer to his face. His cheek ticced, and his eyelids closed. 

"Actually, could you keep your eyes open for me, sir?" the droid asked. "I need to make sure that your bionic implants are functioning without any issues." 

The Techie slowly reopened his eyes. There was a quiet whirring sound as the scanner was passed over his face, a little greenish blue light shining out from the sensor. His faux pupils contracted when the light hit his bionic eyes before they returned to their usual size. The scanner was moved methodically, slowly, down and across his body. It stopped whirring when it reached his feet and was pulled back up to eye level in the medical droid's arms. There was a moment of silence as the droid ran through the results. 

"There is consistent bruising on the thorax, gluteal region, upper hips, levator scapulae, and trapezuis. The sir also appears to be a bit malnourished and underweight for a person of his height. He has a lowered immune system and heightened levels of cortisol," the med droid listed off. "On a lighter note, your implants do appear to be functioning at full capacity with no problems. I would suggest a bacta cream application on the bruised areas and beginning to maintain a consistent eating, drinking, and sleeping schedule to combat the malnutrition. The sir mostly just needs plenty of rest," it finished cheerfully. "I could apply the bacta cream here if you want." 

The Techie tensed at the mere thought of someone taking off his clothes to _touch him._ He could barely handle his big brother holding his hand. No no no no. He hadn't realized he was shaking until Armitage called his name in concern. His head snapped up at the sound of his voice, eyes wide. 

"That won't be necessary," Armitage informed the medical droid in a curt tone. "Prepare me a few packs and have it sent to my quarters." 

"Yes, your majesty," the droid responded. It wandered off to presumably go do what his brother asked. 

"Shh, shh, it's okay, Bren," Armitage said. The Techie looked up at him, trembling slightly. "No one will touch you without your permission. I swear it." 

"Th-thank you," was all that he could say, voice coming out small and watery. Armitage's eyes flashed with emotion again before they cleared. 

"Come. Let's go to my quarters, little brother," Armitage said gently. 

"Okay," the Techie responded. 

He slid off the cot, and his older brother led him out of the medical bay. Armitage's boot heels clacked against the floor as they walked in a different direction down the hall. They reached a door, and Armitage lifted his empty hand, gloved fingers flitting over the keypad as he tapped in a code. The door slid to the side with a soft hiss of air. Armitage guided him inside and made the door close again. His older brother moved his fingers as if to remove his hand from his own, and the Techie panicked. He grabbed at him with his other hand and held his wrist. His breathing quickened, blood pounding in his ears. Armitage looked startled for a moment, green eyes widening, but he quickly understood what the matter was. As he always had with his little brother. Armitage brought his other hand to rest over the Techie's and gave him a soft smile of reassurance. 

"I won't go," his brother said. "If you don't want me to." 

Heat, tears, pricked at his eyes, and the Techie whimpered. Armitage lifted his right arm and cautiously held it just above his back. He lightly pressed down on his back to guide him into his arms. The Techie quivered and went limp in his grasp, burying his face in his older brother's fancy black overcoat. Armitage's thumb rubbed gentle circles into the flesh of his upper arms. Safe, safe, this was safe. 


End file.
